Stage 3 - Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana
We came to the Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana - VCV with today’s team time trial stage as a primary objective. We prepared well. We were focused and knew this effort set us up not only for this race but also for other goals later this season.
When we woke up, the weather was super nasty and I’ll admit that the thought of doing an “all-in” TTT effort on an already technical course was extremely daunting. But a TTT is a controllable environment and the team decides where to take risks, which is different from a road stage when you are subject to the decisions of the 150 other riders around you.
On the bus and at the start, rumors were flying. As someone who has spent quite a bit of my career being a loud and public voice for safer race conditions, I respect the decision to not count today’s stage towards the GC, but I was very disappointed with how this decision was reached.
From what I know (again…could be rumors), it was a very limited number of riders who were asked to neutralize the race. In my opinion, it was a biased sample and only the riders with something to lose were consulted. In the future, I’d like the peloton to be better represented in decisions like this.
As we approached our start time, the roads started to dry up. We went into the stage aiming for our best ride possible but knew we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I’m so proud of how our group executed our ride in those conditions, especially with all the added distractions. The effort was intense and we all definitely suffered, but it’s an honor to do it alongside this group of guys. They inspire me to contribute everything I can. It’s satisfying to be part of this win and a great way to start the season.